3. “Backup” meals for days I forget to plan, or my plans go out the window = I’m human

4. A menu plan = ultimate weapon for less stress (I’m back on the wagon, folks, and boy does it feel good!)

This is food realism.

When I focus on these points, we do well nutritionally. We eat less of the bad, empty-calorie stuff and more of the good, nutrient-dense stuff.

Take any of them away, and it all becomes much harder. Food that’s just “okay,” recipes that take too long, no plan A, or no plan B–any of these can throw us off course. I should know. I’ve gotten away from these basics in the last 2 months, with far too many last-minute dinner dashes.

But we’re back. And one of my favorite resources for points #1, #2, and #3 that’s been getting a huge workout lately is the cookbook Quick & Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes. I usually don’t rely on cookbooks—hello, blogs and Pinterest!—but this one is different. It’s just so accessible and appealing.

It’s zesty food for the real-world healthy home cook.

The recipes are delicious. They’re quick. Some are ideal backup meals (check out the recipe below!). Made with virgin coconut oil and high-quality poultry, seafood, and meats, they’re nutritious too. Bottom line: these recipes help make a real food diet work for us.

Chilly weather got you shivering in your boots? This zesty soup will warm you to your toes in no time–and clear stuffy sinuses too! (Bring me a pot next time I’m sick, will you?) When the mercury drops, and we’re short on time and ingredients, we do Thai.

It’s an embarrassingly common last-minute Sunday lunch for us, because yes, I’m that mom, the one who scrambles to throw together lunch after church every. single. week. and yet somehow never manages to make her life easier by, oh, I don’t know, planning. Bah!

Maybe I just need to throw in the towel and plan the same meal—this one—for every Sunday through the end of the year. It’s so yummy, my husband might not even mind. It’s so good, in fact, that it almost makes up for losing our ritual Sunday afternoon nap with our son’s birth. Almost.

Now, let’s talk details. The key to fantastic Thai food at home is good Thai ingredients. Do not—I repeat, do not—go to your favorite health food store and pick up Thai Kitchen brand fish sauce and curry paste. You will pay approximately $207.46 for four over-salty, tragically disappointing meals.